Candriam S.C.A. Raises Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 107.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 55,674 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,782 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $24,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,097,101,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $395,096,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,716,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $876,775,000 after purchasing an additional 726,971 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 50,985.1% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 420,430 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $214,777,000 after purchasing an additional 419,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Moody’s by 315.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 417,782 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $213,424,000 after buying an additional 317,245 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $0.15 on Friday, reaching $487.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 510,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 996,152. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.92, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $455.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $466.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 29.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho decreased their price target on Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $491.00 to $496.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Profile

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.